Are you confident the Government won’t succumb to EU pressure to join an EU army?

Mark Mullan, Dublin 

Independent European election candidate Mark Mullan isn’t convinced that our Government won’t succumb to EU pressure to join an EU army. As the only candidate with hands-on experience of dealing with the impact of war and terror, this is a topic he can speak about with authority. Mark has spent 20 years working with groups like the United Nations, Concern, UNICEF and the European Communities Humanitarian Office.  Given their records, Mark says he is very aware that there will be pressure put on Fine Gael and he is not confident that they will successfully defend our neutrality. He doesn’t believe they have any backbone when it comes to standing up to other member states. Instead, he thinks they will blur the lines of what neutrality means.

According to the Irish United Nations Veterans Association, there hasn’t been one day our troops haven’t served under the UN flag since 1956 - a world record. However, Mark has grave concerns our Defence Forces are already on standby for joining an EU army. He wants any EU funding towards our Defence Forces to be continue to be earmarked for peace-keeping projects under the UN. He feels it should also be used to give soldiers a fair wage. We have a proud tradition of being involved in peace-keeping missions. It’s the reason many around the world respect and trust us as a country. He feels any threat to our neutrality will leave us open to conflict. If we join an EU army there is real potential for terrorist attacks in Dublin. He insists he is genuinely concerned that the violence he has seen in other countries may become a reality in our country.

Mark has seen first-hand what conflict has done to people in Somalia, Lebanon, the Congo and currently Syria. He says “Take it from someone who has witnessed the devastation in countries of conflict. We don’t want that in Ireland. Protecting our neutrality is a key priority of mine and it should be something everyone considers when they vote on May 24th. I am the only one who has seen first-hand the impact that can have and I will do everything in my power to prevent it happening here. I was nominated as an Irish Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year. I put people first.”